San Agustin de Opan, Mexico. 1985. Abbas

Description

The result of nine trips over a period of three years, Abbas’ work in Mexico is a memorable document of a passionate adventure which reveals the contrast between an ancient country and the objects and things that proclaim the modernity of those who possess them. In Mexico – a country that was brutally conquered and then learned to mask its own culture – Abbas traveled, photographing the country as if writing a novel, and keeping a journal as if taking snapshots. Pictured here, a woman in a dust storm in the village of San Augustin de Oapan, State of Guerrero, Mexico, 1984.

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Isn’t photography “writing with light”? But with the difference that while the writer possesses his word, the photographer is himself possessed by his photo...

Abbas was an Iranian transplanted to Paris. He dedicated himself to documenting the political and social life of societies in conflict.

In a career that spanned six decades, he covered wars and revolutions in Iran, Biafra, Bangladesh, Northern Ireland, Vietnam, the Middle East, Chile, Cuba, and South Africa during apartheid. He also documented life in Mexico over several years, and pursued a lifelong interest in religion and its intersection with society.

Most recently before his death, Abbas was working on documenting Judaism around the world. Abbas died in Paris on April 25, 2018. He was 74.